Tile made of stone or agglomerate or the like including means suitable for insertion on slippery surfaces

ABSTRACT

It consists of a tile that is made according to criteria that permit it to be installed inside shower stalls or bath tubs or the like and in particular to be set on the base tray according to criteria that permit the tile to remain anchored in this position, offering advantages both from esthetic and practical standpoints.  
     Basically tile ( 1 ) is made with at least one surface, and in particular the upper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish or honing treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics.  
     In addition special fastening and shock-absorbing elements, indicated by number ( 2 ), are applied at the very least onto the lower support surface of tile ( 1 ), designed to adapt to the shower tray or other similar surface to permit the tile to be fastened and leaving a hollow space below for outflow of water.

This industrial invention patent proposes a tile made of stone oragglomerate with the main characteristic of being made with means thatpermit it to be inserted on shower trays or the like.

It consists of a tile that is made according to criteria that permit itto be installed inside shower stalls or bath tubs or the like and, inparticular, to be set on the base tray, according to criteria thatpermit the tile to remain anchored in this position, offering advantagesboth from esthetic and practical standpoints.

As is known the bathroom accessories sector has the need to findprocedures and products to be applied to various surfaces, and inparticular to the slipperiest surfaces, to prevent the hazard ofslipping while being walked on or when standing in an erect position totake a shower or, more in general, to rinse oneself.

This requirement arises from the fact that glossy surfaces such as thoseof bathroom fixtures or accessories, such as bath tubs and shower trays,become extremely slippery when they are wet and highly dangerous duringuse.

Known techniques for solving this problem are aware of severalsolutions, some of which call for making the shower tray or walkingsurface with corrugations, undulations or reliefs. Other cases call foruse of additional elements such as anti-slip plastic or rubber or evenwooden mats, sometimes equipped with suckers or other means forfastening them to the surface.

These solutions all, however, have evident functional limits which, bothwhen speaking of undulations or reliefs on the shower tray or even whenspeaking of additional mats, refer to the fact that the slipperinessproblem has not been totally solved and in fact in some cases is evenincreased as is the case with rubber mats with suckers where thepossibility of detachment of the suckers creates even more dangeroushazards.

These solutions are also relatively little acceptable from the estheticpoint of view and, in the case of wooden platforms, also characterizedby fast deterioration of the material in contact with water.

The purpose of the invention is to have conceived and created a tilemade of stone or agglomerate which includes means that permit it to beinserted on shower trays or the like and which has, as its maincharacteristic, that of solving the above-mentioned problems, bringingsubstantial practical and esthetic advantages to the platform on whichit is applied.

A first advantage achieved with the solution according to the inventionis that whereby it creates anti-slip elements made of either natural oragglomerate or composite stone materials which offer the necessaryguarantees from the point of view of safety, preventing any possibledetachment from the surface being fastened to.

Another advantage achieved with the tile according to the inventionregards esthetics, which is pleasing because the accessory that is usedis stone with high quality finishes, made in any of the colors offeredby natural or artificial stone and meeting personal tastes and marketrequirements.

The above-mentioned purposes and advantages are all achieved, accordingto the invention, by a tile made of stone or agglomerate including meansthat permit it to be inserted on shower trays or the like, characterizedmainly by the fact that it is made with at least one surface, and inparticular the upper walking surface, which has been subject to asatin-finish or honing treatment that gives it anti-slipcharacteristics, and by the fact that special fastening andshock-absorbing elements, designed to adapt to the shower tray or othersurface, are applied to the support surface to permit the tile to befastened and leave a hollow space below for outflow of water.

Further characteristics and details of the invention can be betterunderstood by the description that follows, given by way of non-limitingexample and which refers to the attached drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic and perspective view of a first type of tileaccording to the invention made according to a basically quadrilateralshape;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic and perspective view of a tile made accordingto a basically arched shape;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-section of a shower stall where the tileaccording to the invention has been applied to the bottom tray.

With reference to the attached figures number 1 indicates a completetile according to the invention and made according to theabove-mentioned criteria, using means that permit it to be inserted onshower trays, on surfaces inside bath tubs, bathroom fixtures or thelike in general.

Basically tile 1 is made with at least one surface, and in particularthe upper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish orhoning treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics.

This type of treatment of the upper face of the tile, in addition togiving it anti-slip characteristics, also offers other effects such asrelaxing and massaging effects coming from the satin-finished and honedsurface. This same upper surface also has stain-proof characteristicsgiven it by special treatments that prevent the tile from being stainedby deposits or humidity.

In addition special fastening and shock-absorbing elements, indicated bynumber 2, are applied at the very least onto the lower support surfaceof tile 1, designed to adapt to the shower tray or other similar surfaceto permit the tile to be fastened, leaving a hollow space below foroutflow of water.

These fastening elements can, for example, be composed of plugs made ofelastic or flexible material having a certain amount of elasticity thatgives them shock-absorbing capacity. Fastening elements 2 can also beprovided with adhesive surfaces so as to ensure maximum adhesion betweenshower tray and tile.

In addition these special shock-absorbers, which can be made of plasticwith self-leveling, anti-slip and anti-algae characteristics, adapt tothe surface of the shower tray giving greater safety and balance duringuse and prevent a series of well-known unpleasant accidents caused bythe ease with which one may slip in showers.

Another advantage is the creation of rounded edges and corners on allmodels of tiles in order to prevent the possibility of bruises or cuts.

FIG. 2 shows a tile 3 made in a basically arched shape designed forinstallation in shower trays with matching shapes as are common, forexample, in corner or chamfered models of shower stalls.

Other further future shapes of the tile can be imagined that conform tothe base or the shower tray or the bath tub where the tiles are to beinstalled either individually or in multiple modes, achieving solutionsthat are to be held to be included within the scope of protection of theinvention the special characteristics of which are further defined bythe following claims.

1. Tile (1) made of stone or agglomerate including means that permit itto be inserted on shower trays or the like characterized mainly by thefact of being made with at least one surface, and in particular theupper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish orhoning treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics, and by thefact that special fastening and shock-absorbing elements (2) are appliedat least on the support surface, designed to adapt to the shower tray orother similar surface to permit the tile to be fastened and leaving ahollow space below for outflow of water.
 2. Tile (1) made of stone oragglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact thatsaid fastening elements (2) can be composed of plugs made of elastic orflexible material having a certain amount of elasticity that gives themshock-absorbing capacity.
 3. Tile (2) made of stone or agglomerate forshower trays or the like, characterized by the fact that said fasteningelements (2) can also be provided with adhesive surfaces so as to ensuremaximum adhesion between shower tray and tile.
 4. Tile (1) made of stoneor agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the factthat said fastening elements (2), which can be made of plastic withself-leveling, anti-slip and anti-algae characteristics, adapt to thesurface of the shower tray giving greater safety and balance during useand prevent a whole series of well-known unpleasant accidents caused bythe ease with which one may slip in showers.
 5. Tile (1) made of stoneor agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the factthat all models of tiles have rounded corners and edges in order toprevent any possibility of bruises or cuts.
 6. Tile (1) made of stone oragglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact thatit can be produced in any shape of tile to conform to the base or theshower tray or the bath tub where they are to be applied eitherindividually or in multiple modes.